We know that many teachers are looking for materials relating to current scientific issues, and we’ve found amazing resources on current issues in science in an unexpected place: Congress.gov.

Many historians consider the defeat of the Nazis at Stalingrad the turning point in World War II, yet this battle is given little attention in most U.S. classrooms. Typically, lessons focus on the major American experiences like Pearl Harbor, D-day, and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan.

A photograph of the abolitionist and suffrage activist Sojourner Truth that appears in the Library’s newest Primary Source Set for educators, “Civil War Images: Depictions of African Americans in the War Effort,” provides an opportunity to discover the questions that the objects in a portrait can raise about the message that image might have been meant to convey.

During an event as large and disruptive as World War I, individuals, organizations, and governments had to make difficult choices between competing societal needs. Examining sports pages from WWI-era newspapers provides an intriguing look at the interplay between celebrity, public entertainment, and wartime needs.

Primary sources such as the letters and diaries of Civil War Nurse Mary Ann Bickerdyke offer rich insights into the lives of real people. The fragmented, personal nature of these sources requires careful reading in context and comparison across multiple accounts to glean information and construct understanding.

What strategies do you use to bring attention to lesser known people in history?